環(huán)球英語(yǔ) Kong Nai: Master of the Cambodian Guitar
January 18, 2015
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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Robin Basselin.
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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Today's Spotlight is on the Cambodian musician Kong Nai and his story of survival and service.
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In 1975, the Khmer Rouge political group took control of the country of Cambodia. At this time, Cambodia was suffering from war. Fighting from the American War in Vietnam had moved into parts of Cambodia. And the Cambodian people hoped the Khmer Rouge would bring peace and hope to their country.
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Unfortunately, this did not happen. Instead, the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed thousands of people. And many more died from lack of food and difficult forced labor. In three years, the Khmer Rouge caused the deaths of 1,500,000 Cambodians.
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The Khmer Rouge tried to change the culture of Cambodia. They wanted to create a perfect farming based society. To do this, the Khmer Rouge killed many people that did not agree with their political views. They also killed people they thought threatened their idea of the perfect society. This included highly educated people, old people, disabled people, artists and musicians. In fact, over ninety percent of all traditional Cambodian musicians were killed during the rule of the Khmer Rouge.
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However, one unlikely musician survived the rule of the Khmer Rouge. His name is Kong Nai. Now, in his sixties, Kong Nai is one of a few traditional musicians left in Cambodia. Kong Nai is also blind. Both of these things make Kong Nai's survival under the Khmer Rouge amazing. But what is really amazing is the work Kong Nai is doing now.
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Kong Nai was born to a family of poets and musicians. At age four, Kong Nai become very sick with the virus smallpox. This virus blinded him. Because of his blindness, Kong Nai did not attend school as a young child.
He told a reporter from the Agence France-Presse, or AFP, about those early years.
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"I thought life had no meaning and I wanted to kill myself some of the time. I worried for my future. How would I survive? I could not even walk without someone helping me. I felt that there was no use for me."
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Then, Knog Nai heard the chapei. This traditional Cambodian instrument is much like a guitar. Musicians play the chapei by moving the instrument's strings with their fingers. Kong Nai loved to listen to chapei music. And he asked his mother many times if he could learn to play it.
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Most people did not think Kong Nai would be able to learn the chapei - even his close family members. Kong Nai asked his uncle, his mother's brother, to teach him to play. Kong Nai told the news organization NPR, that his uncle said,
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"It will be difficult for me to teach you because you are blind."
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But Kong Nai's blindness did not stop him. At age thirteen, Kong Nai began learning to play the chapei. From the beginning, it was clear that Kong Nai had great skill. By age fifteen, he was good enough to play the chapei for money. People from all over the country invited him to play in their villages. Kong Nai became very famous. He also made a lot of money. And he married a woman he knew when he was a child - a beautiful singer named Tat Chen.
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This was a very good time in Kong Nai's life. He was successful and happily married. Because of his blindness, he had thought that these things would never happen for him.
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However, Kong Nai's fame and happiness began to end in the early 1970s. New government leaders did not support music and the arts as much as past leaders. Cambodia was also beginning to suffer the effects of the American War in Vietnam. Kong Nai told the AFP,
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"The country had changed - people did not care about good music. They cared only for their security. What I earned from the chapei was just enough to feed myself from day to day."
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Things became even worse when the Khmer Rouge gained control of Cambodia. They sent many Cambodians to labor camps. At first, the Khmer Rouge let Kong Nai keep his chapei. However, they made him play songs only about the greatness of the Khmer Rouge. They also made people listen to the songs. Kong Nai remembered,
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"I could not sing what I wanted or I would be killed"
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Then without warning, the Khmer Rouge took away Kong Nai's chapei. He was separated from his family and made to work hard labor. Like many other Cambodians, Kong Nai suffered from difficult labor, beatings and a lack of food. Kong Nai told NPR about this terrible time,
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"They beat us up and we had to eat leaves in order to survive. This was so painful, but we had to live through the Khmer Rouge."
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One day, Kong Nai was taken by soldiers into the forest. He thought he was going to die. However, the soldiers left him in the forest alone. The next day, the Vietnamese army took over the labor camp. Kong Nai was freed. He later found his wife and children.
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Kong Nai wrote a chapei song about that day. It is called "Liberation Song." These are some of the words.
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"For 3 years we suffered things we cannot forget; everything was destroyed.
Blood was spilled and children lost parents.
Cambodia became a place of killing...
Husbands and Wives, brothers and sisters, were separated.
We were made to forget each other.
Until January 7th, when the Cambodian people were freed of the sadness."
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Kong Nai's survival is an amazing story. He is the only master of the chapei left in Cambodia. However, his story does not end there. Today, Kong Nai continues to play the chapei. He is no longer rich and famous. But he is continuing a tradition.
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And Kong Nai is not alone in his work. An organization called Cambodian Living Arts is helping support traditional artists and musicians like Kong Nai.
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The organization pays the traditional artists to continue playing. They also pay them to teach young people their traditional skills.
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Kong Nai has taught his sons to play the chapei. He is also teaching a few young students at the Cambodian Living Arts center. Kong Nai knows this work is important. He told NPR,
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"I am the oldest one now and when I die, I hope that the music will continue to the young generation."
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The writer of this program was Robin Basselin. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users can visit our website at https://www.radio.english.net. This program is called "Kong Nai: Master of the Cambodian Guitar." We hope you can join us again, for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
